1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cooler that is attached to a golf pull cart. The cooler contains a cooling compartment and a plurality of external pockets for carrying various items, such as food, beverages and other paraphernalia.
Individuals that play golf normally transport their equipment on a golf course using one of three methods, namely, hire a caddy, rent a motorized golf cart, or either pull or push a golf cart over said golf course. If the individual playing golf desires a beverage, food, or other items during the golf game he or she has to obtain such items at the clubhouse. Individuals who rent a motorized golf cart have the luxury of carrying a standard cooler on the golf cart.
Previously, coolers and ice chests generally consisted of a large rectangular box type structure, constructed from an insulation material into which ice, beverages and food items are placed. Typically, these types of coolers are carried to a desired location by grasping handles attached to the sides of the cooler. This type of cooler, however, suffers from the disadvantage of being difficult for one person to carry over long distances.
More recently, coolers have been developed which are carried on an individuals back, similar to a backpack. These types of coolers are not very advantageous for individuals playing golf because they would be constantly removed from the individuals back or placed on the individuals back depending upon the stage of the golf game.
Thus, there is a need for a cooler that can be easily attached to a golf pull cart and which can be easily transported by one person over long distances during the course of a golf game.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various coolers have been utilized in the past to transport beverages, food and the like over long distances. For Example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,351 to Guibert et al. relates to a golf accessory bag attached to a golf pull cart. The golf accessory is attached to a golf pull cart in a substantially triangular space located between the two wheels, the throat portion and the golf bag platform of said pull cart. The golf accessory bag may comprise a shell having four corners and is formed of a triangular shaped bottom wall and three triangular shaped side walls. The golf accessory bag may have a plurality of chambers inside the shell and external pockets for transportation of personal golf items or accessories.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,172 to Jones is directed to a cooler having a pivotably fastenable lid and a coolant container which fits snugly within the underside region of the led. The lid is defined by a plurality of generally opposing, inwardly facing sidewalls that extend downward towards the cooler bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,154 to Blount teaches a support device for coolers that is removably attachable to golf carts. The device is described as suitable for supporting and transporting a cooler. The support device consists of an interior C-shaped member formed of a rigid material and positionable in a horizontal orientation. A rectangular support member is attached to the C-shaped member with attachment means at a predetermined angle. A U-shaped tongue extends downwardly at an angle from the central extent of the coupling edge of the C-shaped member and rectangular support member. A cooler is removably placed in the rectangular support member attached to the golf cart enable lid and a coolant container which fits snugly within the underside region of the lid. The lid is defined by a plurality of generally opposing, inwardly facing sidewalls that extend downward towards the cooler bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,218 to Jackson discloses a wheeled cooler having wheel members for rolling displacement on a base surface. The wheel members are simply and easily removed form the cooler to allow for a stabilization of the cooler on any type of surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,610 to Macedo relates to a portable insulated container for keeping food products at desired temperature levels. The portable insulated container has a temperature indicating mechanism which is responsive to the relative temperature within the interior of the container without the need for exposing the contents of the container to ambient conditions.
As can readily be determined from the foregoing there is an ongoing research effort to produce new and novel portable coolers for the easy and efficient transport of food, beverages and other items over long distances.
The present invention resides in a portable cooler that is removably attached to a golf cart for transporting ice, food, beverages and other items over a golf course by individuals playing golf. The present invention resides in a cooler device which is suitable for mounting onto a golf bag, pull cart. The cooler comprises a container having a top wall that is slightly tapered downwardly from the front to the rear, a right wall and left wall that are spaced apart and mutually converge from the front to a back wall and are tapered inwardly in an upword direction from the bottom wall to the top wall, a bottom wall that is horizontal, a back wall that is tapered inwardly from the bottom wall to the top wall and a front wall that is tapered outwardly from the bottom wall upwardly toward the top wall. An access flap is positioned over an opening in the top portion of the front wall and is positionable to cover or uncover said opening. Velcro strips attached to the lower inside of the access flap and the upper outside of the front wall provide securing means therefor. The top wall of the container contains first top flexible strap means and two support struts located on either side of the flexible strap means and extending horizontal between the right and left walls. The top flexible strap attaches to a golf pull cart and supports the cooler on said golf cart. Second, flexible strap means located near the top portion of the back wall provides additional support and stabilization for the cooler when attached to a golf cart. The container contains inner support means for food products attached to the upper section of the back and side walls of said container. The support means has an opening at the front which allows for easy access therein. The container has a plurality of external pockets for carrying a variety of items. The container preferably has a three layer construction which provides for a durable, flexible, water-proof and thermal barrier material.